Generally, for mounting a passenger seat on a vehicle body, a seat bracket is provided on the vehicle body, and the seat consisting of a seat cushion and a seatback is mounted on the seat bracket via a seat rail.
There are two ways to mount the seat bracket on the vehicle body as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 hereof.
A first vehicle body 100 shown in FIG. 9 has a floor panel 106 and right and left side sills 103, 103 provided at the opposite sides of the floor panel 106, extending longitudinally. A floor tunnel 101 is formed at the transverse center of the floor panel 106, extending longitudinally and protruding upward. A floor tunnel reinforcing member 102 for reinforcing the floor tunnel 101 is provided on the underside of the floor tunnel 101. Seat brackets 104, 104 are provided on top surfaces of the floor panel 106 between the floor tunnel 101 and the right and left side sills 103, 103, respectively. Right and left passenger seats 105, 105 are mounted on the seat brackets 104, 104, respectively.
A second vehicle body 200 shown in FIG. 10 has a floor panel 206, and right and left side sills 203, 203 provided at the opposite sides of the floor panel 206, extending longitudinally. A floor tunnel 201 is formed at the transverse center of the floor panel 206, extending longitudinally and protruding slightly upward. Auxiliary brackets 202, 202 are provided at the corners where the right and left side sills 203, 203 abut on the floor panel 206. A seat bracket 204 is extended on the floor panel 206 between the right and left side sills 203, 203, straddling the floor tunnel 201. Right and left passenger seats 205, 205 are mounted on the seat bracket 204.
The seat brackets 104, 204 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are configured such that the seat brackets 104, 204 are extended between the right and left side sills 103, 103 and between the right and left side sills 203, 203, respectively. The seat brackets 104, 204 must be large members to fit the dimensions between the right and left side sills 103, 103 and between the right and left side sills 203, 203, respectively.
There is thus a demand for reducing the size and weight of a seat bracket for mounting a passenger seat on a vehicle body.